


Unwilling Witness

by Skylar0Grace



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-14
Updated: 2012-03-14
Packaged: 2017-11-27 13:03:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/662298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylar0Grace/pseuds/Skylar0Grace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes you just can’t move on...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unwilling Witness

**Author's Note:**

> ‘Flame Trees’ lyrics by Cold Chisel. Set post-series. I own nothing.

* * *

  
He pulled his robes a little tighter and looked up at the imposing buildings. He’d seen a million grand buildings, but nothing compared to Hogwarts. It held something that the others didn’t. The flickering lights from inside beckoned him and he joined the throng of people climbing the stairs.

Strangely enough, everything looked exactly the same. Filch stood off to the side, sneering, as he watched everyone enter. The pictures were still the same, the candles even still lighting the sky in the hall. Most of the children that gone for the holidays and those that remained stayed out of sight. McGonagall stood at the open doors, inviting everyone inside with a smile and brief handshake. The place had been his home for a time and was full of a thousand memories.

Draco scanned the crowd before him. Most everyone he knew by name but he was looking for the one in particular that had practically dragged him along. He recalled flat-out refusing but, somehow, the tables turned and he ended up agreeing. He finally spotted Blaise at the bar.

“I didn’t think you’d show up.”

“Nearly didn’t.”

Blaise wordlessly ordered another two of whatever he’d been drinking and both of them sat at a table in the corner as Draco looked around. The long tables were gone, small round tables taking the place of the house ones. Practically every surface was in either silver or white photos sporadically positioned on the walls. Draco swallowed thickly and turned away.

“You look just the same.”

Blaise offered a rare grin and cast a critical eye on his friend. “You look like crap.”

Draco ignored him and Blaise looked out at the crowd before turning back quickly. “Hey, do you remember that cheese head from Ravenclaw? I wonder what happened to him?”

“Works at the Ministry, I suppose.”

Draco looked down into his empty glass and tried to remember when he’d drunk it.

“You’re gonna bump into him. It’s a reunion – you can’t just avoid him because he got- “

“Don’t!”

The abrupt, loud exclamation drew the attention of some former students but, upon seeing who it was, they turned back to their business. Draco pushed the glass away from him and tried not to think about what a horribly bad idea this had been.

“Look,” he said, apologetically, “it was years ago. Pretty much forgotten. And I’m fine. Water under the bridge. No point in ruining a potentially good night by dredging it all up.”

Blaise raised his eyebrows. “I may not have seen you in years, like everyone else, but you’re gonna have to work on it if you want to peddle that out.”

Draco stood and left.

He was almost out the door when a bush of frizzy hair caught his eye. One of the Ravenclaw students had stopped a Slytherin on her way up to the dorms and, from the looks of it, the scrawny, dark-haired boy was trying to ask her out. He couldn’t hear what was being said but the girl blushed before mumbling something and rushing up the stairs. The boy turned around and fist pumped triumphantly.

Draco turned around and came face to face with a picture of her. It had to have been taken in first year and featured a smiling Hermione waving. He felt the blood drain as he stared at it, unsure of how he had missed it walking in.

“It’s a nice photo.”

Draco cleared his suddenly choked up throat and turned to ‘the boy who lived’. He looked much the same, just a little older. Fame obviously hadn’t changed him. He stared awkwardly at his feet before saying what was on his mind.

“It wasn’t your fault.”

He turned to leave but Harry grabbed his arm. Ron is my best mate but Hermione would have chosen you – if you’d let her.”

Draco closed his eyes but Harry seemed intent on continuing regardless.

“She loved you. Took us awhile to get that and I don’t know why you walked away; I just know that it wasn’t because you didn’t love her. She chose Ron, and they were happy enough, but I know she wanted kids. She wanted a different life. Maybe it would have been different if... well, it doesn’t matter anyway. It wasn’t your fault – it was the wizard’s who killed her.”

Draco turned on him angrily. “It **IS** my fault! If she’d been with me, she wouldn’t have chosen such a dangerous job and she’d still be around!”

Harry looked at him sadly. “Maybe. You know, I thought Ron had been able to move on because he’d loved her so much that he could let her go... but I look at you here and... maybe it was just that he was happy to have her as long as he did.” Draco turned around to go. “Look, pretty much no one here knows about you and Hermione. Those that do won’t say anything. If you wanna come in and not talk about it...”

He shook his head. “Everything here reminds me of her.”

Harry nodded in understanding and watched as Draco walked out of the building.

Later that night, a raven flew overhead as below a blonde haired man placed a hand on a tombstone and softly whispered the words, “I’m sorry.” Over and over as tears fell freely.

_Oh, the flame trees will blind the weary driver_   
_And there’s nothing else could set fire to this town_   
_There’s no change, there’s no pace, everything within its place_   
_Just makes it harder to believe that she won’t be around_


End file.
